The Ultimate Guide to Improve Run Cadence: 17 Tips From Easy To Hard

Daren DLake 00:00.108:

In this episode, you will find out everything you need to know about how to run faster, stronger, and with less effort, all with one small adjustment. What is it? Increasing your run cadence. But how do you actually do it? To answer that, we need to go back 20 years. Way back in college, I ran track and had an awesome coach. Shout out to coach Marty Owens. One day we were doing 200 meter repeat sprints. He saw that I was stretching my legs out and running faster at the end of each interval. I was like, yeah, I go faster that way. He then said something that changed my life forever. He said, hey, Darren, why don’t you try shorter steps to get more power from your glutes and hamstrings instead of stretching your legs out and breaking your stride? I scoffed and was like, but on the next interval I tried it because I’m a good runner, good student. It was kind of awkward but my times were slightly faster and by the third one, the third interval of me trying this new way of running, I felt fresh at the end of the interval. My obsession with cadence was born from there and I wanted to tell the world about this one metric that could potentially change the game for all runners, you included, from the 5k to the marathon and even ultra marathoners. Who am I? I’m Darren, run coach, sub-three-hour marathoner, and 10-hour Ironman finisher. Since 2012, I’ve been coaching other runners, researching and experimenting on myself on how to get 1% better each day. I do this through habits and incremental gains in my training, racing, and life, all so that you can run and live your best one step at a time. Let’s get into the episode. what you will learn. I’ll start off by defining what run cadence is, why you should care about it, and how to measure your cadence. Once we quickly get through that we can move into the meat of it all and I can give you 18 different ways to improve your cadence ranging from super easy to a bit more complex and nuanced because Everything’s not easy in life, so some of the stuff you’re going to have to work for. I’ll touch on the traps you should avoid as you look to increase your cadence later on. At the end, I’ll show you how this plays out in the real world and give an example training plan, followed by a longer term plan to increase your cadence over six months. Yes, it might even take that long. And last, I’ll be joined by running physical slash physiotherapist professional specialized experts to help me explain this better. One will be Dr. Marie Witt, who’s a strength coach for runners who’s on YouTube and Instagram. Let’s get into it. What is run cadence exactly? Run cadence describes the number of steps a runner takes per minute. It’s literally counting how many times your feet hit the ground in one minute while you’re running. Just like beats per minute in music. Now, why should we care about run cadence? Three main reasons. One for efficiency reasons. A higher cadence can make your running more efficient by reducing your feet time on the ground. So how long you actually are on the ground. Runners want to spring off the ground as quickly as possible. A fast marathon runner will take 20,000 steps and a slower marathon runner will take 60,000 or more steps. Which is crazy. Three times more. Now imagine if you could shave off a quarter of a second per step and use that energy to spring you forward. Physics and momentum all in action. Yes, that is efficiency. The second sub reason for injury prevention. It can help lower the risk of injuries by reducing the impact on your joints and muscles. And the third is possibly increased speed. possibly huge asterisk. Increasing your cadence can help you run faster without increasing your effort. If you train it, it takes a bit. This is a bit of a misnomer because when someone increases their cadence, they run faster, but it’s because they increase their stride length, which is how far you’re actually each step is going. Here’s Dr. Marie Witt with why we don’t want to increase our run stride and how to actually think about it.

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Dr. Marie Whitt Fit 03:52.406:

Over-striding results in running injuries like runner’s knee, Achilles issues, plantar fascia issues. Here is a cue I give to runners. If you are running down a paved trail, a dirt trail, and all of a sudden there’s a lizard or a snake that crosses your path, you kind of pull back, your steps get shorter because you’re probably trying to either stop or jump over the critter. This is actually a great sensation to put into your brain because that is what shortening your stride feels like while trying to maintain the same pace.

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Daren DLake 04:25.495:

Now, how do we train all that? We’ll get into that shortly. But first, we need to measure cadence. how to measure your cadence. One, count your steps. So simply count how many times one foot hits the ground in 30 seconds and then double that number. This is way easier said than done. So use technology to help you. Two, use the technology. Many smart running watches and apps can automatically track your cadence. For the nerds, these devices use an accelerometer and algorithms to determine how many steps you take per minute. This is way easier than counting in your head and doing math. Optional advanced technology, using a foot pod like the Garmin Running Dynamics Pod, Wahoo Ticker X Chest Strap, Heart Rate Monitor, or Stride’s Power Meter slash Foot Pod will give you a crazy amount of data and metrics that is probably overkill for most people. but not for me. I love that stuff. I have all these devices and I love analyzing my data after the run, sometimes during the run, but usually after. To each is their own, but you’re not me. So let’s get into what the ideal cadence is for certain people. the ideal cadence. Here’s a quick backstory of where we are in cadence with science and research from Dr. Marie Witt again.

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Dr. Marie Whitt Fit 05:53.694:

Cadence is a hot mess in the research space. In the 80s, research scientists decided, you know what sounds good? 180 steps per minute. That’s going to be perfection. That’s going to be our random gold standard. And it really was pretty random. Because what happens here is 180 steps per minute, which is our definition of perfect cadence, doesn’t work for every body type.

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Daren DLake 06:16.215:

My personal number is between 175 and 185 steps per minute. But sometimes I question that I want to get professionally assessed in the future. And I might, I might do that. So watch this space. Taller runners can run at a lower cadence and be efficient while shorter runners run at a higher level, a higher cadence usually, and they’re efficient. Eliab Kachoggi, master marathoner is around 190 steps per minute for his marathon pace. Now that you know all the basics about cadence, here are 18 ways to train and increase your cadence. So here you go, I’m gonna give you the whole step by step manual. They start off easy and straightforward and then progress to more complex. The complexity combines how difficult it is for you to actually do it, the gear you’ll need, etc. So actual mental effort, physical effort. Please note, I am not your physical therapist or run coach or any of these professionals on here that you’ll see. Take everything that we all say as entertainment and information only. Consult a run specific physical physiotherapist to get your run form and gait assessed to see if increasing your cadence is best for you. Everything will have the number of the step. It will have the name of the actual tip, how to do it, and it will have the difficulty. So easy, medium or hard. Number one, stride length reduction. Easy. Focus on shortening your stride slightly while maintaining the same speed or pace. This can help naturally increase your cadence without significantly requiring changes in your effort or technique. Super easy. Just go out there, do that right now. Number two, run with a metronome. Easy. Run in sync with a metronome set to a specific BPM, beats per minute. This could be on your watch or in your headphones. Remember, BPM is just the same as steps per minute. My Garmin Forerunner and most run specific smartwatches made in the last four to five years will probably have something like this. I personally hate it. I can’t stand it. I tried the vibration, audible alert. and both at the same time. And it was just weird after about a minute or two. There are better solutions that I’ll touch on in here in the steps. But again, this is really simple thing that you can do right now with low lift and no effort. Number three, practice run-walk intervals. Easy. Start by running for a short time at a higher cadence, then walk to rest, repeating this cycle throughout your workout. So one minute on, 30 seconds off, two minutes on, one minute off, whatever you want to do. So you run the minute, you walk the minute, and that will get you used to it over time. Do this once, twice a week. Future Darren here. I know you want to be able to increase your run cadence ASAP. So to make it easier for you to go out and just do it, I created a free six month download training plan specifically that allows you to increase your run cadence 1% better each week and slowly adapt your biomechanics. Why so slow? Because if you change your run form too fast, you can injure yourself and the change won’t last. Be smart and use the QR code on the screen somewhere around here. link below in the video or link in the podcast show notes to get your copy of it right now. And a bonus, you’ll automatically sign up for our 1% Better Newsletter, which isn’t like other running newsletters because we don’t do quick motivational hacks. Instead, every week-ish, you’ll get tools and tactics to transform you through small, step-by-step, daily habit improvements, all to help you train, race, and live exponentially better in your running life. Let’s get back into it. Number four, run with Spotify playlist. Easy to moderate. Run with the Spotify playlist based on your taste that analyzes music around a specific BPM. This is super easy. Just open up Spotify free or premium and type your BPM of choice into the search. Like literally 180 BPM. Spotify will automatically create a playlist based on your music listening style, so your whole history. This playlist include music that you have listened to or would listen to, and now you can run to songs that are around that BPM. Note, it is not perfect. Take it all with an absolute grain of pink Himalayan rock salt. Some songs are not at the BPMs due to many factors like the AI misanalyzing it or the song changing BPMs naturally throughout. Sometimes a song will be 182 BPMs when I’m trying to get 180. but you can delete those tracks if you don’t like it, it’s not working, and slowly get the playlist to be beneficial for you or move them to a playlist where everything is exactly what you want. Number five, hill repeats. Easy to moderate. Dr. Whitfit to tell us how.

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Dr. Marie Whitt Fit 10:49.483:

I want you to go find a hill, preferably steep and short, and I want you to run up it. This is a sensation that I want you to burn into your brain because this is what it feels like to increase your cadence or increase your steps per minute while actually shortening your stride length.

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Daren DLake 11:07.461:

Number six, mindfulness and visualization. Easy to moderate. Spend a few minutes before each run visualizing yourself running with a higher cadence. A bit woo woo, but it does work. During your run, periodically remind yourself to check your cadence and make adjustments as needed. Number seven, cadence reminders. Easy to moderate. Using a watch or a fitness tracker with vibration alerts set to your target cadence can provide tactile reminders during your run. So this is not the metronome. It’s like every minute or two or whatever you want the alerts to come up. It will yell at you if you’re out of your zone. Number eight, get a DJ mix of songs. Moderate. This is the most granular specific and my current favorite. You can pick the exact music you want and get the exact steps per minute while enjoying what’s actually in your head and your body naturally goes to the flow. This is the advanced version of the metronome. Get a DJ mix that is mostly the same BPMs of songs you like, can tolerate, and then match it precisely to the BPM you want. drum and bass and hip-hop are best for this as the nature of the genre is around 170 to 190 bpms you just need to do mental math and multiply two for hip-hop if it’s 85 to 90 bpm so just 85 is 170 90 is 180 The challenge is that this will require you to download an MP3 of the DJ Mix and the VLC player app on your smartphone. So there’s an app called VLC. Then every time you open the app, set the BPM to your choice, the actual percentage. So it goes, you can speed something up with a ratio of 1.0 to 2.0, 3.0 times, if you want to listen to a podcast or something, but you need to just speed it up just like 1.02, 1.04, which I am visually showing you on this video podcast. If you’re listening, highly recommend go watch it or check out the website or show notes. I’ll have a video on this. So you need to work out through trial and error what the actual BPM is that you’re going for. So I know certain mixes, I need to get them to 1.04 to be 180 to 182 BPMs. This is my go-to option since I run 175 BPMs for my slower, easy runs, and 182 BPMs for my fast runs. It’s a bit more mental bandwidth, but the specific nature of dialing right in is what I live for. I love this technology stuff. Number nine, use a running app. Moderate. Many apps offer cadence coaching features that provide real time feedback on your steps per minute. Most of them are paid. You can’t get exactly what you want, but try them out. 10. Cadence Counting, Moderate. During your runs, periodically count the number of steps you take in one minute. Yes, very manual. This helps you become more aware of your cadence and encourages adjustments as needed, but it’s painful because you sit there and go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and then you got to go with the watch and all that type of stuff. Number 11. Barefoot or Minimalist Running, Moderate. Dr. Whitfit with how to do it.

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Dr. Marie Whitt Fit 14:09.200:

if you’re feeling brave and you have a grassy sandy or dirt area that is safe to run barefoot on or you’re gonna go grab some minimalist shoes i want you to go run barefoot for only 20 to 30 seconds at a time because what you’re going to feel what you’re going to experience is your body naturally shortens your stride length because it doesn’t have that overt squishy protection of the running shoe. This is another great way to burn that sensation into your brain of this is what it feels like to change my cadence in a way that is helpful for my body. However, this is not for runners who have Achilles issues, plantar issues, or even runner’s knee issues. So don’t come for me.

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Daren DLake 14:52.052:

12 speed workouts. This is getting moderate hard. Incorporate interval training with shorter bursts of higher speed running. Running fast naturally forces a quicker turnover and helps your body adapt to a higher cadence over time. But running fast means you need to be ready for it. So be careful. 13, practice high knees, moderate to hard. This drill encourages quick foot turnover. Start by marching in place with high knees, then gradually speed up. Bonus, do it on a slight gradient, 5% hill. Yes, you’ll definitely feel it and you’ll start to work it properly. 14, downhill running. Getting to moderately hard again. Similar to hill repeats, running downhill can help reinforce a higher cadence as you work to maintain control and avoid over striding. Number 15, running form drills and plyometrics. Now this is hard. Remembering what the right steps per minute feel like involves doing running form drills and plyometrics. There’s no way around it. There are a million different plyometrics and form drills and exercises that you can do. One day I’ll do a library of them. One day I want to do that. I spoke about that here, plyometrics and form drills, or there’s a link in the show notes or video description below. Number 16, strength training for lower and upper body. This is hard because it takes effort. And Dr. Whitfit goes into more detail.

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Dr. Marie Whitt Fit 16:10.168:

What I’m gonna have you do is I want you to start focusing on strength training regularly two to three times a week by focusing on squats, lunges, variations of calf raises, because these exercises are going to help build strength and power in your lower extremities and your legs, which you need them to be strong, solid. You need the tendons to be elastic because those are going to be your powerhouse, which help you maintain a fast cadence without getting tired in an optimal way for your body.

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Daren DLake 16:42.333:

Number 17, work with a professional. This is the last one. This is hard. Hire a running coach. Run physio slash physical therapist to do a run form or run gait analysis with video. A professional specialist can provide personalized advice and training plans to help increase your cadence safely and effectively for you and your very specific needs. Every runner is different. Periodically recording your running form and analyzing it with the specialist. can help identify specific areas for cadence and strive mechanic improvement. And you get to see yourself progress over time. Final thoughts. Making drastic changes to your running form in such a short period of time. like a month could lead to injury as your body isn’t accustomed to these new run mechanics. However, sticking with this gradual approach will reap significant benefits. You’ll start to bulletproof your tendons, connective tissues, ligaments and bones, making them more resilient. As you become a more efficient runner, you’ll be better equipped to handle increased running volume and intensity and as everyone wants, run faster and longer. Thanks for rocking. If you want to learn more about this topic, we went into further detail, you should go and check that out right here. Time, I’m absolutely obsessed with it as it’s one of the things we can’t make more of, but ironically, we as humans, we created it. Thanks for giving us your time to listen, watch, or read this episode. We love helping runners get 1% better each day, one step at a time, and can only reach more runners by people like you sharing this out to runners like you. Get it? We also have a weekly newsletter that helps runners live better lives through consistent self-improvement. Unlike other running podcasts and videos, the 1% Better Runner focuses on how small daily habits ripple into broader life success, helping runners perform better both on and off the road, all in about five minutes per week. This was produced in Sydney, Australia, and I’d like to acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, who are the traditional indigenous custodians of the land. Mega respects. If you wanna contact us about anything, email talk at delay creates dot com spelled T. A. L. K. at delay creates dot com all the normal way. We’re also on the socials, mainly Instagram and Strava at delay creates or the 1% better runner train smart, race and live easy. Peace.